NutriSphere-N a Good Fit for Maryland Farmers

In response to the recent temporary changes announced by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA), SFP wants area farmers to know how NutriSphere-N®Nitrogen Fertilizer Manager can benefit their spring fertilizer applications.

According to MDA, farmers planting small grain crops (e.g., wheat, barley) for harvest in the Commodity Cover Crop portion of the 2011-12 Winter Cover Crop Program will be allowed — in 2012 only — to apply commercial fertilizer beginning February 15 (instead of March 1 as originally stipulated) due to warm winter weather. Specifically, commercial fertilizer may be applied (to those program cover crop acres the grower plans to harvest) at rates of no more than 40 pounds of nitrogen (N) per acre. Additionally, MDA advises that commercial fertilizer applied include a denitrification inhibitor to reduce the risk of N loss.

That’s where NutriSphere-N can play a key role in fertilizer investments made by Maryland farmers. Up to 50 percent of applied N fertilizer can be lost to leaching, volatilization and denitrification. NutriSphere-N helps protect and stabilize applied N fertilizer (both liquid and dry forms) while offering growers flexibility regardless of application timing.

“For Maryland growers wanting to take advantage of the extra time allotted to apply their spring fertilizers, NutriSphere-N will protect nitrogen against major forms of loss from application through harvest,” said J. Larry Sanders, Ph.D., president & CEO, SFP.

Test plots and trial data throughout the United States shows positive results against N loss with NutriSphere-N treated nitrogen on wheat.

“Growers in Maryland applying N early will need help to get the most from their nitrogen,” Sanders said. “Added protection against key forms of nitrogen loss will mean a better return on a grower’s fertilizer investment, which will ultimately mean a better bottom line.”

For more information on Maryland’s Cover Crop Program provisions, contact MDA’s Maryland Agricultural

Cost Share Program Office at 410/841-5864 or your local Maryland soil conservation district. To learn more about NutriSphere-N, visit sfp.com.